2006 Iron Bowl

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T-shirt logo worn by Auburn players and fans before the game.

The 2006 Iron Bowl was decided on November 18, 2006, the 71st in the series, the fourth held at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and the sixth held in Tuscaloosa. Auburn defeated Alabama by a score of 22-15 in front of 92,138 fans.

Auburn came into the game ranked #15 in the Associated Press and USA Today polls and #14 in the BCS standings after a disappointing loss to Georgia on November 11. Alabama was 6-5 coming into the game, with losses to Mississippi State and LSU in the previous two weeks.

The Tigers played conservatively, rushing 40 times against 14 pass attempts and letting the game come to them. They took advantage of four Crimson Tide turnovers and six long Kody Bliss punts to earn their fifth straight victory in the series and rise to 4-0 at Bryant-Denny.

Drives

1st quarter

  • Auburn received the kickoff and started from their own 38 after a face-mask penalty. Kenny Irons got the ball four times straight to start the game, getting one first down. Brandon Cox's incomplete pass on 3rd and 3 led to the first punt, for a touchback.
  • Alabama drove on the next series from their own 20 to a 1st and goal at the Auburn 4 yard line in 8 plays, highlighted by a 27 yard QB scramble and a 20 yard rush by receiver D. J. Hall. The Tide was unable to punch it in in 3 downs from inside the 5, then took a delay of game penalty which set up Jamie Christenson's 24 yard field goal to give them the 3-0 early lead.
  • Auburn started the next drive from their 34 and managed to lose a yard on the 3-and-out. Bliss' 53 yard punt was extended by a holding call which gave Alabama the ball at their own 10.
  • John Parker Wilson threw four straight passes with two completions to get to the 26, where Matt Caddell launched a 33 yard punt that was well-covered. Auburn's Tre Smith lost 22 yards on the return.
  • The Tigers gained 2 on their next series, but Bliss boomed a 79-yard touchback punt from the 21.
  • Wilson completed two short passes and converted the 1st down on a sneak to end the 1st quarter.

2nd quarter

  • Kenneth Darby rushed twice to bring Alabama to the 35, then Wilson fumbled the ball on a Quentin Groves sack at the 27 and Kevin Sears recovered it for the Tigers.
  • Auburn's Brad Lester scored on his fourth straight carry, shouldering the 27 yard scoring drive that gave Auburn the lead. John Vaughn kicked the extra point and Matt Clark kicked off for a touchback.
  • After Darby lost 6 yards on 1st down, Groves forced another fumble on a sack, giving Auburn 1st and goal at the 8 yard line.
  • Kenny Irons scored on the first play of the drive, an 8 yard run. John Vaughn converted the extra point despite a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
  • Alabama opened the next drive with a 17-yard Darby rush to the 37. Wilson completed one of three passes on the ensuing series, leaving Caddell to punt on 4th and 1 from the 46. Alabama's coverage team downed it at the 1 yard line.
  • Auburn put together a 6-minute drive with 5 first downs, highlighted by Rodgerigus Smith's 31 yard reception. John Vaugn missed the 53 yard field goal attempt when the drive stalled at the 37.
  • Wilson threw twice to Nikita Stover in the next series, picking up 11 yards for a 1st down and then a 53-yard touchdown on 3rd and 10. The 2-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
  • Starting at the Auburn 17, the Tigers' Brad Lester gained 4 on 1st down, then Brandon Cox took a knee to close out the 1st half with Auburn ahead 14-9.

3rd quarter

  • Matt Clark kicked off for the Tigers to start the 2nd half, yielding a touchback.
  • Alabama put together its own 6-minute drive from the 20, mixing short runs with 3 for 3 passing, capped by Travis McCall's 13 yard touchdown catch. Wilson's 2nd 2-point attempt failed and Christensen kicked off to the 28 and another hold pinned the Tigers on their own 10, down 15-14.
  • Cox made two of his six completions for the game on the next drive, but was also sacked twice, forcing the Tigers to punt from their own 41. Bliss' 48-yard punt was fair-caught by Javier Arenas at the Tide's 11.
  • A holding penalty backed the Tide up to the 8 and Caddell's punt was fair-caught by Tre Smith at the Auburn 46.
  • Cox completed two more passes on the next drive, hitting Carl Stewart for 37 yards on 1st and 10, the Prechae Rodriguez for a 21 yard touchdown. Stewart hit Lee Guess for the 2-point conversion which put Auburn up 22 to 15.
  • Alabama's drive stalled at the 39, spanning the end of the 3rd quarter.

4th quarter

  • Caddell's punt was caught by Tre Smith at the 20. After a couple of positive rushes, Alabama's Chris Harris forced a Kenny Irons fumble, which Jeremy Clark returned to the Auburn 41.
  • On the next play, Keith Brown caught an 8 yard pass and fumbled, giving Auburn the ball back on their own 30.
  • Brad Lester gained 5 yards on 3 rushes and Bliss punted from the 35, pinning Alabama to their own 11.
  • Completions of 21, 10 and 25 yards to Brown, Tim Castille and Stover gave the Tide 1st and 10 at the Auburn 13, but three straight incompletions after Jimmy Johns was hit for a 6 yard loss turned the ball over on downs at the 19.
  • Brad Lester was handed the ball five times, picking up one 1st down on the next drive before Bliss' punt was returned by Arenas to the Alabama 41 with 1:28 to play.
  • Wilson was intercepted on the 2nd play of the drive by David Irons.
  • Cox dropped to a knee twice to end the game, picking up a 1st down on a 15 yard personal foul.

Alabama's DJ Hall finished with 28 yards receiving - 27 more than he needed to break David Palmer's single-season record and become the second Tide receiver to have a 1,000 yard season. John Parker Wilson also set a single-season mark for passing yards during the game, finishing with 2,540 - 41 yards ahead of Brodie Croyle's 2,499 yards in 2005.

References

  • Goldberg, Charles (November 19, 2006) "No style points, just another win." Birmingham News.
  • "Iron-clad: Auburn scores fifth straight win over Alabama." (November 19, 2006) Associated Press.

External links

Iron Bowl (Alabama vs. Auburn)
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